|
|
Have
You Heard of DPOs?
Ever heard of
Dowry Prohibition Officers? Even educated people may not have heard of
them, despite the fact that they were 'created' by a 1986 amendment to the
1961 Dowry Prohibition Act (DPA). Their role was largely to monitor dowry
demands, report the matter to the police and prevent harassment of women
by their in-laws and husbands. They were to make DPA more effective.
Much was heard about these officers at a recent conference organized by
the National Commission for Women (NCW) together with the Indian Law
Institute. One or two officers were present at the conference, but it
turned out that they wear many hats, and dowry is just not a priority.
Take H C Chidanand, Deputy Director of the Women and Child Development
Department of the Karnataka state government. "I am in charge of
implementing 42 departmental schemes. I don't have time to go and book
cases and then attend the court."
Other overburdened officials performing the role of Dowry Prohibition
Officers (DPOs) in their states are the tehsildars (revenue and
administrative officers) in the districts and police officials in
sub-districts. Most of them are not even sensitized to the issues
involved.
In Rajasthan, the State Welfare Officers are meant to fulfill the role of
DPOs. But they are too busy to help any dowry victims. "It is clear that
the response of the state government has been lukewarm," said one speaker.
The National Crime Records Bureau says there are over 6000 dowry-related
deaths every year. But several activists and women groups claim that over
25,000 women are killed for dowry every year.
Asha Ramesh, an activist, pointed out that officials working in the Crimes
Against Women Cells in Uttar Pradesh are not even aware of the existence
of a Dowry Prohibition Act.
Margaret Alva, Member of Parliament, felt that the clause in the dowry
legislation which says, "State governments may provide for appointment of
as many DPOs as it sees fit", should be changed to: "State governments
shall appoint DPOs". She also pointed out that mere legislation is not
enough, as awareness does not percolate down to villages, and the police
do not register FIRs (first information reports) against in-laws because
they don't want to intervene in domestic disputes.
During the conference, Purnima Advani, NCW Chairperson, said that instead
of expecting people to knock at the doors of the state machinery, "We need
to go out and help victims of rape and dowry. This is how proactive
governance should be conducted in this country."
Several useful suggestions were made during the conference on how to
concretize the provisions of DPA. One was that volunteers from NGOs,
instead of government officials, should be appointed as full-time DPOs.
Another was that a community watchdog committee should be constituted to
monitor and prevent the giving and taking of dowry.
It was also pointed out that appointment of full-time DPOs could have a
preventive effect, just as the presence of traffic policemen deters people
from breaking traffic rules. "This is relatively easy because in India,
marriages take place during certain auspicious days of the year."
Some enthusiasts also suggested that DPOs draw up a list of gifts before a
wedding, signed by both parties and also by an independent witness. The
DPO must keep a copy of the list, and in case of a complaint, help restore
the bride's dowry to her.
Another pertinent point stressed by NCW was that doctors should be
sensitized about this social evil, so that they faithfully record the
dying statement of dowry victims and conduct post-mortems where foul play
is suspected. Their role is crucial in nailing the in-laws who cause
physical harm to women victims.
Supreme Court judge B N Srikrishna said that a social reform legislation
is only as effective as the level of awareness of society. DPOs should be
committed persons who interact with members of the community. They also
have to be aware of such facets of ancient Indian culture as the fact that
there is no such thing in the scriptures as "demands" for dowry.
However, the conference speakers did not seem to arrive at any future
strategy to make DPOs more visible.
Ravindra Singh Garia of Lawyers' Collective, an NGO that (among other
activities) provides legal help to dowry victims, says the whole purpose
of DPA was to create a separate mechanism for dealing with dowry cases.
But if the usual law enforcement machinery handles these cases - as in
states like Haryana where Sub-Divisional Magistrates are also DPOs - they
should at least go by the spirit of the law. But for that to happen,
social perceptions about dowry have to change.
–
Manjula Lal
February 19, 2004
By arrangement with
Womens Feature Service
Top
|
|
